This disclosure generally relates to a speaker assembly mounted within a vehicle instrument panel for generating warning and alert tones. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a speaker assembly that is substantially resistant to water and that is installed on the face of a vehicle instrument panel.
Instrument panels in motor vehicles are required to be substantially water proof to prevent potential damage caused by any number of events that could result in liquid penetrating to the electrical devices and connections within the instrument panel. Because of the requirement to be waterproof, speakers are not included on an exposed face of the instrument panel, but are instead mounted deep within the instrument panel and under the dashboard. Such a location presents several disadvantages. In some instances the location of the speaker will mute or muffle the warning and alert noises such that the operator may not hear them. To overcome this problem, a larger and more powerful speaker may be required, at a corresponding increase in cost and space utilized.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a speaker for use within a vehicle instrument panel that can be mounted in a location favorable for directing alert sounds to a vehicle operator.